Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Apprentices: Taxation

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with employers in Wales about the effect of the apprenticeship levy in Wales.

Nick Boles: Ministers in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills have had exchanges with many employers, including those with a UK-wide presence, as part of the consultation exercise held between August and early October this year. These discussions continue. The Government is working with the Welsh Government and other devolved administrations to ensure fair and transparent funding and, as far as possible, to develop a system for administering the levy which complements the skills and apprenticeship policies of each of the devolved administrations and which works for employers wherever they are in the UK.

Apprentices: Dundee

Chris Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many apprenticeships the Government has supported in Dundee in each year since 2010; and what the per capita average financial value of that support was.

Nick Boles: Apprenticeship policy is a devolved matter. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills does not collect apprenticeships information relating to the devolved administrations. It is for the devolved administrations of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to determine how they manage their own apprenticeship programmes and they will continue to have complete flexibility over how to support businesses through training and apprenticeships.

Apprentices: Taxation

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the apprenticeship levy on employers operating in Wales whose headquarters are in England.

Nick Boles: The apprenticeship levy will apply to employers across the UK. An allowance of £15,000 means only those with a paybill exceeding £3million will have to pay it. The Government is working with the Welsh Government and other devolved administrations to ensure fair and transparent funding and, as far as possible, to develop a system for administering the levy which complements the skills and apprenticeship policies of each of the devolved administrations. We are committed to doing all we can to make the system work for employers wherever they are in the UK.

Apprentices: Taxation

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to paragraph 6.14 of English Apprenticeships: Our 2020 Vision, what steps his Department will take to ensure employers are still encouraged to take on 16 to 18 apprentices following the introduction of the apprenticeship levy.

Nick Boles: We are working through the policy implications of the levy. Ministers and officials are conducting end to end meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of getting the detailed design of the levy right before its implementation in 2017.We want 16-18 year olds to play a key part in the success of apprenticeships. The lifetime benefits associated with the acquisition of apprenticeships are significant, and there is a high level of return to investment delivered by the apprenticeship programme. We will continue to encourage employers to take on 16-18 year olds as apprentices.

National Apprenticeship Service: Staff

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many staff were employed by full-time equivalence (a) in total and (b) by region in the National Apprenticeship Service in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2012-13 and (iii) 2014-15; and how many staff will be employed by full-time equivalence in the National Apprenticeship Service  in (A) 2015-16, (B) 2016-17 and (C) 2017-18.

Nick Boles: The National Apprenticeships Service is housed within the Skills Funding Agency. The tables below outline the total number of staff employed by full-time equivalence and by region in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2012-13 and (iii) 2014-15; and how many staff will be employed by full-time equivalence in (A) 2015-16, (B) 2016-17 and (C) 2017-18.*The Skills Funding Agency is unable to forecast future headcount.YearTotalRegion2010-11 (as at 31 March 2011)Headcount 382East Midlands – 33 East of England – 32 London – 37 North East – 26 North West – 36 South East – 33 South West – 35 West Midlands – 27 Yorkshire & Humber – 36 National - 87 2012-13 (as at 31 March 2013)Headcount 340London – 54 Central – 66 North East – 64 North West – 40 South East – 39 South West – 51 National - 26 2014-15 (as at 31 March 2015)Headcount 317London – 54 Central – 66 North East – 64 North West – 40 South East – 51 South West – 39 National - 3 2015-16 (as at 11.12.15)Headcount 245  N/A2016-17*Not availableN/A2017-18*Not availableN/A

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills: Staff

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many staff by full-time equivalence there were in his Department in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2012-13 and (c) 2014-15; and how many staff by full-time equivalence he expects there will be in his Department in (i) 2015-16, (ii) 2016-17 and (iii) 2017-18.

Joseph Johnson: The staff figures (full-time equivalent) for 2010/11, 2012/13 and 2014/15 are set out below:YearFTE (Core BIS only, not UKTI)Source/Notes2010/112,781Published in the BIS Annual Report & Accounts 2011 (Core Dept (3,373) minus UKTI (592))2012/132,692Published in the BIS Annual Report & Accounts 2014/15 2014/152,627Published in the BIS Annual Report & Accounts 2014/15 In the further years of this Parliament, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is expecting to make further headcount reductions in the core Department, in line with our Spending Review settlement and our efficiency programme ambitions. The exact figures for full time equivalents in these years are not available at this stage.

Apprentices: Taxation

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether the Apprenticeship Levy will apply to public and third sector organisations.

Nick Boles: The levy will apply to all UK employers. Employers with a pay bill of less than £3m will not have to pay the levy. This is more than 98% of all employers. These employers will continue to have access to government funding to support apprenticeships.